"For most small and medium-sized British exporters, the painful moment is rarely the order itself. It is the phone call a few days later, when the bank politely points out that the working capital required to fulfil it sits stubbornly the wrong side of an agreed credit ceiling. A career-defining contract becomes, almost overnight, a balance-sheet problem."
"That is precisely the bind that Masters Speciality Pharma, a 41-year-old Hertfordshire specialist pharmaceutical company, found itself in last year after winning two sizeable orders from Saudi Arabia worth a combined £2.3 million. The remedy, as is increasingly the case for ambitious British SMEs eyeing the Gulf, came from UK Export Finance (UKEF), the government's export credit agency, which stepped in with insurance cover against the risk of non-payment and gave HSBC UK the confidence to lift its credit thresholds."
"The deal is the latest example of how government-backed insurance is quietly underwriting British SME ambition in one of the world's most lucrative regions, and it lands at a moment when UKEF is leaning harder than ever into the SME exporter agenda. A 41-year-old elstree exporter that punches above its weight"
A common challenge for small and medium-sized British exporters arises after winning an order, when working capital needs exceed an agreed credit ceiling. Masters Speciality Pharma, a Hertfordshire pharmaceutical company, faced this bind after securing two Saudi Arabia orders worth £2.3 million. UK Export Finance provided insurance cover against non-payment risk, which enabled HSBC UK to increase credit thresholds. The outcome illustrates how government-backed insurance supports SME exporters targeting lucrative regions such as the Gulf. Masters Speciality Pharma, founded in 1984 and based in Elstree, supplies hard-to-source medicines and serves more than 75 countries across the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The Saudi orders included treatments for sickle cell disease and a specialised antibiotic for life-threatening infections.
Read at Business Matters
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